Disney
There are certain actors who have become synonymous with the franchise that they’ve starred in. Bruce Willis in Die Hard, Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, Hugh Jackman in X-Men — and so on and so forth — are all examples of actors who have become the heart & soul of these highly successful franchises.
And Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean is that same kind of iconic role … or at least we thought he was.
According to the latest rumors, despite the fact that the latest Depp-led Pirates movie came out in 2017, Disney is planning to move the franchise forward without the long-time star, who has appeared in all five Pirates films since 2003, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, which earned him an Acamdey Award nomination.
Bailey, who oversees a staff of 100 in Burbank, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the opportunities offered by Disney’s upcoming streaming service and the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without Johnny Depp.
You’ve hired Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to work on a possible Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. Can Pirates survive without Johnny Depp?
We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.
The decision to remove Depp from the franchise is likely due to a multitude of factors. The more recent Pirates films have not been particularly well-received, and the star has since become quite controversial since he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
At this time, the release date of the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot has not been announced.